Records to gather if you are self-employed

Records of the income you received

Keep the invoices you raised, reports from any payment platforms you use, your bank deposits and anything that reconciles them. Not every payment you receive comes with a statement from the payer, so your own records matter.

Records of what you spent on your work

Whether an amount is treated as a business expense depends on your facts and the applicable rules. Keeping the underlying record is what makes that assessment possible later.

• Receipts and invoices for the amounts you paid
• Bank and card statements showing those payments
• A short note of the business purpose where the document alone does not make it obvious

Forms 1099 you receive from clients

Clients and platforms may send you information returns reporting what they paid you. Reconcile these against your own income records rather than treating them as the complete picture.

Estimated tax payments you made

If you made payments during the year, keep a record of the dates, the amounts and the period each payment related to. Your tax professional will normally ask for these.

Assets you use for both work and personal purposes

If you use a vehicle, a piece of equipment or part of your home for both business and personal purposes, records kept at the time are usually far more reliable than an estimate you reconstruct afterwards.

Why your prior-year information helps

Returns you filed previously, and the schedules that went with them, show how your activity was reported before and whether anything carries forward.